[ad_1]
With February underway, JPMorgan is adding an industrial real estate owner and removing some retailers from its list of favorite stocks. JPMorgan’s analyst focus list is updated every month. It’s based on the top picks of its analysts, and looks at growth, income, value and short investment strategies. The changes come after a volatile month for stocks. 2026 began with significant gains in semiconductors and small caps , while geopolitical events loomed as investors focused on the U.S. ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump ‘s push to acquire Greenland . The S & P 500 ended January with a gain, but the month finished with severe pullbacks in precious metals and cryptocurrencies . Joining JPMorgan’s list in February is First Industrial Realty Trust , a Chicago-based industrial real estate owner and operator. While the company’s shares are up nearly 8% over the past year, they’re still below the stock’s 2021 all-time high. JPMorgan said the stock offers relative value in the industrial sector, and has room for growth. “Industrial fundamentals are improving and FR is leveraged to that recovery via its large pound-for-pound development pipeline,” wrote co-head of Americas equity research Ken Goldman. Names remaining on the list are Boeing and Microsoft , with the bank reiterating overweight ratings on the companies after both reported earnings in January. Microsoft’s earnings led to a sell-off after investors were disappointed with a slight miss in Azure and other cloud services growth. While JPMorgan cut its price target to $550 after Microsoft’s earnings, analyst Mark Murphy wrote, “it is wise to appreciate the massive revenue base of the Azure business and reiterate our view that taking a longer-term approach to Azure’s growth curve is warranted.” JPMorgan removed Best Buy , Burlington Stores and Regency Centers from its February list. Regency and Best Buy were both downgraded to neutral from overweight, and while it maintains an overweight rating on Burlington. Goldman wrote the bank sees more investment opportunity in shares of Ross Stores .
[ad_2]
Source link
